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Who's Hiring Now (And How To Surmount The Growing Skills Gaps In 2014)

A new 2014 Regional Hiring Outlook report from the ExecuSearch Group presents some interesting findings. The regional report, covering NYC, Tri-State and Greater Boston shows employment levels being generally positive on the whole. At the end of 2013 the jobless rate, at 7%, is the lowest it’s been in five years. Yet despite a general feeling of optimism, it is clear in this survey of 195 employers that all is not well. Nearly half of respondents (45%) name “attracting the right talent” as one of the biggest challenges to growing their businesses, while a quarter (26%) state “skills shortage” as the biggest impediment to their current plans. Execu-Search CEO Ed Fleischman believes this sentiment is indicative of the nation at large. The reasons?

In interviews, Fleischman notes the particular high skill gaps in Healthcare, at 43%, due to the Affordable Health Care plan, and also in Financial Services. “With each new federal mandate, companies need additional specialized employees to keep their business compliant or drive their companies forward,” he said.

In healthcare, for example, close to 50% of ExecuSearch’s clients have large hiring needs, Fleischman noted, particularly in managed care, nursing and in healthcare information IT. Human Resources positions are suffering from the skills gap as well, he says, because as the economy does more hiring, companies need to have more people in benefits and compensation, recruiting, training and development.

What can companies do when access to sufficient skilled workers falls short?

Fleischman notes several phenomenon that are currently occurring:

Wages Rise. With insufficient skilled workers available, companies are forced to pay higher wages to the individuals they hire when they are being forced to compete for scarce talent.

They Emphasize Soft Skills. Where exact fits are lacking, employers look more strongly at the intrinsic qualities such as motivation, work ethic, communications skills (hurray!) in an effort to obtain people with the “right stuff” to be trained. The most popular soft skill traits, according to respondents in the study:

Problem solving and analytical thinking skills

Team Player

Initiative/Drive

Effective communication skills

They Provide Training. In some cases, companies become more adept at providing internal programs for training. In others, they adopt partnerships or alliances with training and certification organizations who can help them to align worthy candidates with the specific training programs they need (sometimes sponsored by the hiring companies).

In the latter category a new organization, CareerGlider, is working to capitalize on the current jobs situation by helping to align job seekers with online, certificate-based training to meet the criteria of positions that are emerging in the greatest areas of need. Says Co-Founder Sunil Sani, CareerGlider is hoping to shrink the growing skills gap that’s creating a wedge between today’s job seekers and current hiring employers. They help users identify areas of interest and then help to get them aligned and enrolled in the right schools or online programs to obtain the sought after skills employers want.

For employees seeking to cash in on the current “skill shortage” jobs Sani reports that the online training programs CareerGlider offers may vary widely in length and cost. For example, a short skills programs like Microsoft Office Skills may require only a few days and less than $500 in fees. Other programs, such as many of the healthcare certificate programs, may cost a bit more and may take a few weeks or a few months to complete. At the highest end, the degree-granting programs may cost as much as a traditional brick-and-mortar college program, but provide applicants with a slightly compressed time table and can offer the benefits of a flexible schedule as an online program and may provide for rolling admissions as well.

The CareerGlider program is quite new. An online search produces multiple resources for matching career interests with available online certification and degree programs. However, in the current jobs climate, CareerGlider officials are working particularly hard to assist prospective applicants in aligning with the most advantageous positions relative to the growing job skills gap that is emerging in 2014.

As for ExecuSearch, Fleischman notes it has experienced 23% growth of its own in 2013, and he sees regionalized jobs data becoming much more prevalent in the remainder of 2014 and beyond. Readers can obtain a copy of the current 2014 Regional Hiring Outlook here.

Could your own prospective skills lead to a more advantageous position or even a change in career in 2014? If you’re tempted, consider the infographic below courtesy of the ExecuSearch Group:

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Exactly, Leanne – I love the thoughts of the innovative entrepreneurs who are working to match prospective employees with these new offerings. It can help from both directions. Thanks for your note! Regards, Cheryl

Yes, let’s hope, Devin. I’m glad to see the flip side of some of the complexities we’re facing – it’s creating new jobs. Now we just need to help prospects quickly develop the right skill sets to match. Thanks for your note! Cheryl